Bloomberg's exchange-traded fund (ETF) market analysts predict a wave of approvals for spot ETFs on altcoins, similar to those that currently exist for Bitcoin and Ethereum. According to Blockworks, experts say that the likelihood of a Solana-based exchange-traded fund being approved has risen from 70% to 90%.
Analyst James Seyffort and his colleague Eric Balchunas previously accurately predicted the approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024. Now Balchunas has written on X that we should expect an “Altcoin ETF Summer,” which will begin with the launch of a fund on Solana.
The experts specified that applications have also been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for ETFs for Litecoin (90% chance of approval), XRP (85%), Dogecoin (80%), Cardano, Polkadot, and Avalanche (75% each), as well as for SUI (60%). The review for TRON has not yet begun, with a deadline set for 2026.
Many issuers are planning to launch Solana ETFs, including Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Bitwise, Canary Capital, 21Shares, and Grayscale. The SEC's 240-day deadline for making a decision on these products expires in October. However, analysts are optimistic that the agency may approve the ETFs earlier.
"We think the SEC may now focus on processing the 19b-4 applications for Solana and launching ETFs sooner than planned. Issuers and industry participants have likely been working with the SEC and its cryptocurrency task force to develop rules, but the agency's final decision on these applications will not come until October at the earliest," Seyffort was quoted as saying.
According to journalists, the SEC has asked companies wishing to launch Solana ETFs to submit updated documents with amendments on redemption mechanisms in the fund and staking. This is part of a bureaucratic procedure, following which a response may be issued within 30 days, meaning that approval for a Solana-based ETF is possible as early as July.
In February, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched SOL futures, which was seen as a positive step for potential ETFs on this cryptocurrency, the report said. The exchange had previously opened futures markets for Bitcoin and Ethereum prior to the launch of ETFs, which ultimately helped the SEC approve these products.
